Pictured: Louelle Philander, WESSA Project Coordinator with the Eco Club of Okiep High School
From 10 to 14 August, WESSA facilitated an upcycling programme at participating schools in the Namaqua Municipality as part of the eWASA & WESSA SA Schools Waste Management and Education Project. The sessions introduced Eco Club learners to the concept of upcycling and encouraged them to look at waste differently, not simply as something that needs to be thrown away or collected for recycling, but as a resource that can be given a new purpose.
Learners were given the opportunity to put the concept into practice. In preparation for the upcoming Trashion Show, EcoClub learners were challenged to create either a fashion piece or an arts and crafts item using recyclable or discarded materials. Learners collected materials from their own school recycling bins and used these materials as the starting point for their creations, then adding some arts and crafts resources to complete their works.
Pictured above: Eco club learners from Sacred Hearts Primary School and Dr Izak Primary School creating and showcasing their upcycled works of art.
The Eco Club at Primêr Skool Springbok arrived particularly well prepared. Several learners had already created their Trashion Show outfits and brought them along to the session. What started as a planned upcycling activity quickly turned into a mini trashion show, with learners proudly modelling their creations. The idea was well received and added an unexpected but enjoyable element to the session.
Pictured: Eco club learners from Primêr Skool Springbok proudly showing off their creative trashion show pieces.
Following the Primêr Skool Springbok session, the mini Trashion Show was incorporated into the upcycling sessions at the other participating schools. Learners were given a short amount of time to create their pieces and then showcase them to their classmates. The new approach was met with enthusiasm, and learners embraced the opportunity to work with materials that would otherwise have been discarded and explore new possibilities for their use.
Pictured: Learners from Namaqua Schools preparing their upcycled fashion pieces.
The activity provided a practical way of demonstrating the difference between learning about waste management and applying it. The resulting fashion pieces and artworks reflected the learners’ ideas and showed that materials commonly viewed as waste can have value beyond their original use.
Pictured: Eco Club learners showcasing their fashion pieces
Overall, the upcycling sessions were educational, creatively engaging, and a whole lot of fun. The Trashion Show element also encouraged learners to share their ideas with one another and gave them an opportunity to take ownership of the activity. Through the programme, the concept of upcycling moved beyond theory and became something learners could see, touch and create for themselves.